Dangerous Love
by Scarlett Crimson Red
Summary: Full description is at the beginning of the first chapter. My OC is Jennifer Hart, Henry Hart's twin sister. RATED M FOR A REASON! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!
1. Chapter 1

_**I have recently fallen in love with the TV Show Henry Danger and I have no idea why. Probably because Cooper Barnes is freakin' hot! Sooooo, you can probably guess who my OC is going to hook up with: Ray Manchester/Captain Man. Like most of my stories, this follows the plot/outline of the TV show. I'm not going to apologize for that. If you don't like that, then stop reading right now and for those of you who do like it or don't mind then please, keep reading. I'm also going to up the time frame a little bit. Instead of it being in junior high, it's going to be in high school setting and Henry and my OC are both seventeen years old about to be eighteen. I'm also going to make it a little more adult themed but still keep the comedy of the show to it of course and have a little more serious crimes occasionally. IT IS RATED MATURE FOR A REASON! My OC is Jennifer Hart who is Henry Hart's twin sister. I hope you enjoy it and like always I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!**_

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My bright blonde hair bounced around my shoulders as I made my way down the stairs to the living room. It was an ordinary day. Piper, my little sister, was with friends and Mom and Dad were both at work. Henry, my twin brother, was at his new job at Junk-N-Stuff. I smoothed out my navy blue flannel shirt over my black skinny pants as I made my way into the kitchen. As I reached for the refrigerator door, the back door in the kitchen opened and Charlotte walked in. Her dark colored skin shined bright and her black curly hair was up into one bun.

"Hey, Jennifer, where's Henry?" She asked.

"At work." I answered as I grabbed an orange and walked over to the sink to start peeling it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I sighed. "Where else would he be?" Charlotte walked over to me, grabbed me by the arm causing me to drop my orange in the sink. "Char, my orange." She pulled me into the living room where she turned on the TV to the news. The news showed a live footage of Captain Man and Kid Danger putting out a fire at the local maple syrup factory. "What does this have to do with anything about Henry?"

"Because Henry is Kid Danger." I stared at her in disbelief before breaking out laughing.

"That's hilarious, Charlotte, what else do you got?"

"Jennifer, I'm being serious." My laughter halted as my smile fell off my face.

"I am too, Charlotte. Henry's at work at Junk-N-Stuff."

"On a Sunday?" I stopped and thought about that for a moment. I forgot today was Sunday which meant most local stores were closed, including Junk-N-Stuff. "And him falling asleep during class?"

"He just hasn't been sleeping well lately. Everybody goes through that stage at some point."

"Or he's been out late at night fighting crime with Captain Man." I bit my bottom lip as I pondered it, remembering that it was just the other night that Henry came through the bedroom window well past midnight. The night before the Porto Rico History test that he slept through and failed. "And that mysterious new watch of his. Every time it beeps, he gets nervous and has to immediately rush to _work."_ She made quotation marks around work.

"Okay, so what if he is?"

"We confront him about it and find out the truth."

"Okay, but can I finish my orange first?"

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I laid on Henry's bed in the dark with my phone in hand as I scrolled through the internet waiting for Henry to come home. It was almost midnight and he still wasn't back. Charlotte stood by the light switch waiting. I came across an article that titled, _Captain Man's Failure_ and I clicked on it to find out what it was about. I skimmed through the article and picked out key stuff such as Captain Man's been after the Phone Shark for over a year now and still hasn't caught him. The Phone Shark was a criminal who for some unknown psychological reason likes to bite phones. A grunt sounded outside the window and I quickly turned off my phone. The window opened and Henry jumped from the branch just outside the window into the room onto the platform that held my bed. He closed the window and started walking down the steps of the platform. Charlotte flipped on the light, scaring Henry and causing him to slip down the steps. He scrambled back onto his feet and stared wide eyed at Charlotte and me. I sat up and crossed my legs and folded my hands in my lap.

"You're home late." I said. Henry stumbled over his words as he tried to form a coherent sentence to say to us.

"Why are you here?" Henry asked.

"Cause we're suspicious." Charlotte informed him.

"Of what?"

"Why did you climb through your window?"

"Uh, because, the front door was locked and I forgot my key."

"Mom and Dad always leave a key under the front door mat." I reminded him.

"I like your shirt." Henry quickly said, trying to change the subject. It was like his defense mechanism. Every time he got caught in a lie, he would try to change the subject.

"Where have you been?"

"Working. You know, just working."

"Really?" Charlotte inquired, crossing her arms over her chest. "Cause I called Junk-N-Stuff. Nobody answered."

"Okay. You want to know where I've been?"

"Yes." Charlotte and I answered in unison.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes." Charlotte and I spoke together.

"I'm a jazz musician." Charlotte and I exchanged disbelief glances. "I don't tell a lot of people but secretly I play jazz and the only time the jazz clubs are open is late at night."

"Hen?" I called to him.

"Yes, Jen?"

"Do you know how I know you're lying?"

"How?"

"Because your lips are moving."

"But I was at a jazz club. . . blowing jazz. . . on my horn." Charlotte walked over to him and sniffed his hair before taking a couple of steps back. Henry stared at her like she just grew another set of arms. "Why'd you sniff my hair?"

"I heard on the news tonight that Captain Man and Kid Danger put out a fire at a syrup factory." Charlotte said.

"Oh, did they?"

"Yes, and you're hair smells like syrup."

"I wonder why." Henry nervously laughed.

"Maybe because you're Kid Danger."

"Jeez, Char, I thought we were going to be subtle about it." I said. Henry started nervously laughing louder.

"And you must be Beyoncé."

"Henry," Charlotte and I scolded and he sighed.

"Okay, this is really big what I'm about to tell you."

"What that you're Kid Danger?" Charlotte sassed.

"Shut up!" Henry opened the bedroom door and looked out into the hallway to make sure that no one was around. He closed the door and locked and turned back to Charlotte and me. "I'm Kid Danger."

"I know. I figured that out."

"Just promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise."

"No, you don't understand. I took an oath that I would never tell anyone that I'm Captain Man's sidekick." I got off Henry's bed and walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Hen." I assured him. "Your secret is safe with us." Henry sighed with relief.

"Thanks, Jen."

"Now, come on. Let's go to bed. We got that math test tomorrow. Or were you too busy fighting crime to remember?" Henry groaned and threw his head back as he fell back onto his bed. I laughed as I jumped onto the platform and climbed into my bed. "Don't worry, Bro. I got your back."

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The next day after school, I went for a run. I always liked running. Welcoming the burn in my thighs every time was relaxing to me. I liked staying fit. My cheeks burned as I came to a stop on the front porch. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and walked through the front door. The air conditioning was cool against my warm skin. After grabbing a cold water from the fridge, I jogged up the stairs to my room to grab some fresh clothes and take a shower. As I walked into my bedroom, jazz music filled my ears and I noticed Henry slouching on the floor by the foot of his bed, drinking chocolate syrup straight from the bottle. His eyes were dead and filled with sorrow and his movements were sluggish like he just received bad news. I sat down on one of our chairs and looked at him.

"Hen, what's wrong?" I asked him. He took another chug from the bottle before answering.

"I got fired." My eyes grew wide as I tried to process the news.

"Captain Man fired you?!"

"Mmhmm," He hummed around a mouth full of chocolate syrup.

"For what?"

"You and Charlotte know that I am—was—Kid Danger."

"But it's not your fault that we found out."

"Doesn't matter. I broke my oath."

"Well, you got to fix this."

"How?"

"I don't know but you're not going to find the answer in the bottom of a chocolate syrup bottle." I leaned over to him and snatch the bottle from him. After closing the lid, I tossed the bottle onto his bed. Henry reached behind him and pulled out another bottle of chocolate syrup. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How many bottles do you have in here?"

"You don't want to know." He paused for a moment so he could open the new bottle and take a mouthful. "Jasper was right."

"About what?"

"I was a lame Kid Danger. I couldn't even help Captain Man catch the stupid phone shark." He sniffled and wiped the chocolate syrup off his mouth with the back of his hand. I sighed. I hated seeing my twin brother upset and hurting.

"I feel awful."

"It's cool." He reached behind him and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "I still got my jazz. He changed the song on his iPhone to a jazz version of the cup song and started singing to it. "I got my ticket for the long way around. Two bottles of chocolate for the way. And I can't believe I got fired today. But I did and it's kind of all your fault." I heaved a sigh as I got up and walked to the other side of the room, letting Henry drown his sorrows in chocolate and singing to the cup song about how he got fired. I pulled out my phone and dialed Charlotte. She answered after a couple of rings.

"Hey, Jennifer." She answered. I turned to look over my shoulder at Henry to see him completely sprawled out on the floor.

"Hey, Char," I said. "We have a problem and by we, I mean Henry."

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I brushed the dust off my hands as I stood outside the abandoned warehouse at the edge of town. Dusk had just fallen over Swellview and the wind was cool and calm. It was silent in the alleyway and faintly I could hear the cats meowing from inside. I collected at least a dozen stray cats and put them in the warehouse. Don't worry, they had some food and water and I'm pretty sure there's a couple of families of mice in that place. My phone dinged and I pulled it out of my pocket to see a text message from Charlotte. _Henry's on his way to Swellview Park._ Time to put this plan into action. Charlotte had find out that the Phone Shark was at a wedding in Swellview Park. She called Henry and told him to go to Swellview Park to capture the Phone Shark. There was just one problem. We couldn't risk Captain Man finding out and getting in the way of Kid Danger getting all the glory. Once Kid Danger gets the Phone Shark, it might show Captain Man what an awesome sidekick Kid Danger is and hire him back. Charlotte's taking of Kid Danger and I'm taking care of Captain Man. I wasn't good at coming up with plans but I sure as hell was good at acting. I dialed Captain Man's Emergency Hotline number and held my phone up to my ear, waiting for Captain Man to pick up.

"Captain Man." A deep male voice sounded on the other line. "What is your emergency?" I stuttered for a moment forgetting my role in this plan. The sound of that voice sent shivers up my spine and made me close my eyes and inhale deeply. Another thought clicked in my mind, reminding me of my current task at hand. I cleared my throat and put on my poker face.

"Captain Man!" I called out like a scared little girl. "Please, help me! These two mean guys stole my cat and locked it in an abandoned warehouse just outside of Swellview. The one by the Jandy River."

"Your cat?"

"Yes! My cat! Mr. . ." I pounded my head with the heel of my palm, trying to think of a name. "Fluffies. . . kins."

"Mr. Fluffieskins?"

"Would you just get here and rescue my cat please?" I hung up and texted Charlotte: _Captain Man is on his way to me._ I put my phone in my back pocket and pulled my jacket tighter around me, crossing my arms over my chest. I shifted uneasily on my feet as the silence of the night overpowered me. It felt like hours had passed but when I checked my watch, only ten minutes had gone by. Another shiver overtook my body and I pulled my jacket tighter around me. You would think that California would be warm. Nope, not at night. It could get nippy at night. When five more minutes passed, I was beginning to think that this plan wasn't going to work. I was about to pull out my phone to text Charlotte when I saw a silhouette of a man walking towards the warehouse. I tensed up and stared into the night as anxiety filled my veins but I relaxed a bit when I made out the blue and red suit of Captain Man. I watched him disappear into the warehouse and I made my way over to the entrance of the spooky place. My phone dinged and I pulled it out and read the text message from Charlotte. _Henry just got here._ I texted her back: _Captain Man just got here._ I took a cautious step towards the open doorway and peered into the warehouse. It was pitch black. I couldn't see five feet in front of me which is why when Captain Man came out of the darkness with a calico cat in his hands, I jumped and let out a squeak.

"No need to be frighten, ma'am." Captain Man said, shining his perfect pearly whites. His smile was like a fresh breath of spring air. I cleared my throat and shook my head to clear before taking the calico cat from him. The she-cat growled at me as I took her.

"Thank you, Captain Man, but this isn't Mr. Fluffieskins." I said. "Mr. Fluffieskins is a. ." I went through the mental list of cats that I put in the warehouse. "White cat with black spots." There, a cat that wasn't on the list.

"I'll be right back then, ma'am. I'll find Mr. Fluffieskins." He disappeared back into the darkness. As soon as he was out of my sight, I dropped the cat. She hissed at me as she raced off into the night. I hate cats. I pulled out my phone and I texted Charlotte: _Did you guys get the Phone Shark yet?_ It was only a moment later when Charlotte texted back: _No not yet. The Phone Shark is giving Henry a piggy back ride._ I sighed and angrily texted her back: _Well tell him to hurry up. I can't keep Captain Man here forever searching for a cat that's not even here._ Footsteps sounded on the concrete inside the warehouse and echoed off the crumbling walls. Captain Man came back with a crate of cats, all of them meowing and looking around.

"Wow, Captain Man, you found all the cats that were stolen." I reached into the create and picked up a black cat with a white spot on his chest and forehead. "There you are, Mr. Fluffieskins. I'm so happy that you're all right."

"Thought you said Mr. Fluffieskins was white with black spots?" Shit, I've been caught.

"Did I?" I asked, laughing nervously. "Obviously, I meant to say, black with white spots. Thank you again, Captain Man."

"It's my job. Well, I better take these cats to the animal shelter." I stepped to the side so he could walk through the doorway.

"See ya around, Captain Man." I waited till he was out of my sight before I dropped the cat. "Get out of here, you mangy fleabag." He hissed at me and ran away. My phone vibrated and I looked at the caller ID to see Charlotte's picture. I answered it. "Hey, Char."

"Hey, Henry got the Phone Shark." She said.

"Great because Captain Man just left."

"Okay, Henry wants you to meet us in front of that Junk-N-Stuff store."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

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I sat in a chair next to Charlotte down in what I guess was called the Man Cave. Captain Man and Henry, in his Kid Danger outfit, were across the way at the computers watching the news of Kid Danger catching the Phone Shark. There were a set of six computers with a panel of controls beneath them and a chair. Who knew that Captain Man's headquarters was underneath Junk-N-Stuff? The elevator ride down was sketchy as hell. Scared the piss out of Charlotte and me. Charlotte and I exchanged looks and I wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. What was Captain Man going to do with us now that we not only know Henry is Kid Danger but we also know where the Man Cave is?

"Kid Danger, how were you able to find and apprehend the Phone Shark?" The female reporter asked Kid Danger on the news.

"Well, I would love to take all the credit but it was really my boss, Captain Man, who made it all happen." Kid Danger told the reporter. I raised my hands in exasperation. I "distracted" Captain Man for no reason. Might as well just have called Captain Man and send him over to Swellview Park and capture the Phone Shark himself.

"Interesting. Can you tell us more?"

"No." Captain Man paused the video and turned his chair around to face Kid Danger who was standing behind him.

"You gave me all the credit." Captain Man said, shocked.

"Well, everyone's been giving you a hard time about not catching the Phone Shark. I figured I'd help you out."

"Uh, excuse me, I'm the one who found the Phone Shark." Charlotte pointed out.

"Yeah and I'm the one who distracted Captain Man so you could catch the Phone Shark which I now see was pointless." I snapped.

"It's true." Kid Danger said to Captain Man. "They did." Captain Man rolled his eyes and slouched in his chair as he groaned before standing up and walking over to us.

"Charlotte," He said. "Jennifer. What am I going to do with you?"

"Uh, I think it's pretty obvious." Charlotte said, getting out of her chair.

"And what's that?"

"Give us a job here." Captain Man and Kid Danger exchanged looks. "You guys need us."

"First I want to know how you found the Phone Shark."

"Well, I figured no guy with normal teeth could bite through a phone, right? So I started to call every dentist in Swellview until I found one who told me he had a patient who asked for a whole mouthful of titanium teeth."

"We should have called some dentists!"

"Totally should have!" Kid Danger agreed.

"Then, I hacked into the dentist's computer files, found the guy's name and searched him online." Charlotte continued

"We should have gone online!" Captain Man scolded himself.

"What is wrong with us?" Kid Danger asked.

"And his last update said, _Off to my brother's wedding in Swellview Park. Hope they serve phones for dessert. LOL."_ Charlotte read the Phone Shark's post.

"And then she called Jennifer and me."

"She's good." Captain Man told Kid Danger.

"So is Jennifer." Captain Man rubbed his chin in thought. "She kept you busy long enough for me to catch the Phone Shark. She's also good with researching and math. They could really help us out around here."

"Us?" Kid Danger dropped his head in sorrow and disappointment.

"Oh, right. You fired me."

"You broke the oath."

"And I caught the Phone Shark." Captain Man turned his back to us and took a few steps away from us. "Come on, Ray, hire me back." It was silent for a moment as Captain Man thought it over.

"All right, you're rehired."

"Yes!" A wide grin spread across Kid Danger's face as he raced forward and gave Captain Man a hug.

"Cough, cough." Charlotte said as she cleared her throat. Kid Danger let go of Captain Man and turned to us.

"Oh, Ray, what are you going to do about Charlotte and Jennifer?" Captain Man groaned again as he placed his fist against his forehead.

"Well, they know you're Kid Danger." He said. "They know who I am. They know where the Man Cave is because you brought them down here."

"So, what does that mean?" Charlotte asked.

"It means that we either have to kill you, erase your brain or give you a job."

"I vote job."

"Same." I agreed.

"We can really erase their brains?" Kid Danger inquired.

"Dude!" Charlotte and I yelled at him and Kid Danger hung his head in shame.

"All right, they can have a job here." Captain Man finally said. We gave each other a high five but I wouldn't have been so excited if I had known that this job would have changed my life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

I tried to balance myself the best I could as I swayed back and forth on the elevator platform and as wind howled around me as the elevator fell down the shaft at high speeds. It came to a crash against the floor and the doors opened and I walked out into the Man Cave.

"Sorry, I'm late, guys." I said, dropping my bookbag beside the elevator. "I had lacrosse practice." Charlotte was at the computers looking through the news footage from the ceremony at the Towne Hall this morning. Henry was off to the side eating some frozen yogurt. Gooch, a foreign man who usually works the counter up in the store, was behind a flame thrower machine with Captain Man standing in front of it. "So, what is this I hearing about Ray not being indestructible anymore?" I could barely get my question out when Gooch shot a line of flames at Captain Man's hand. "Gooch!" After a few seconds, Gooch finally turned off the machine and Captain Man's hand glowed bright red as he groaned in pain. I ran over to Ray and took his hand in mine. He groaned in pain as I touched his burnt hand. "Sorry."

"Does it still hurt?" Gooch asked.

"Yeah." Ray snapped at him. "I don't get it. It's been two seconds; the pain should be gone by now."

"We need more tests."

"No!" Ray and I said in unison.

"We've checked enough of my body parts." Ray said.

"What about his butt?" Henry asked around a mouthful of frozen yogurt. "Check his butt."

"We should check your butt." Gooch agreed.

"Check my butt?" Ray exclaimed. "How?" Gooch picked up a bow and arrow and pointed it at Ray.

"Face the other way and touch your toes."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You already stabbed my neck, poured acid on my foot and toasted my hand. I think we can all assume that I'm also vulnerable to butt wounds."

"Hey, guys," Henry called out and we all turned our attention to him. "This is great frozen yogurt."

"Half that yogurt is mine. Gooch, what's going on with me? Nobody's been able to injure me since I was eight years old."

"Hey, everybody, come check this out." Charlotte yelled to us. I walked to the computers with the others behind me. She replayed a news footage of Captain Man talking to an elderly woman and behind him a woman swiftly sprayed something in his face as she walked past him. "See that woman with the perfume?"

"She intentionally sprayed me." I looked up at Ray to see his neck and lip bleeding. I sighed.

"Change and go sit down." I ordered him. I walked over to the auto-snack and placed my hand on the screen. "Two full bowls of honey."

"Two full bowls of honey." The machine repeated. The door to the auto snack slid down and I took the two-blue bowls out. When I turned back, Ray was out of his Captain Man suit and sitting on the booth. I set one bowl on the seat next to him and one bowl on the floor next to his acid foot.

"One hand in this one, the foot in that one." Ray looked at me like I grew two heads and I sighed again. "Honey brings the burn out. You might be sticky, but you'll feel better. Trust me." Ray reluctantly took off his shoes and stuck his hand and foot into the bowls and I wandered off to the other side of the Man Cave looking for anything that resembled a first aid kit.

"But perfume wouldn't make you lose your powers." Henry said.

"True. Perfume wouldn't. . ." Ray's voice trailed off.

"Only the tears of the jolly beetle."

"Jolly what?" Charlotte questioned him. I opened a cabinet and found some bandages and wipes. I grabbed them and walked back over to Ray and sat down next to him.

"The jolly beetle."

"One of the rarest and happiest bugs on Earth." Ray explained.

"So, you're saying the jolly beetle can take away Captain Man's?" I asked.

"Not the beetle itself. . ."

"The beetles' tears." Gooch finished.

"You see when they cry, their tears contain an enzyme, like an acid, which breaks down molecular density."

"And molecular density is what makes Captain Man undamageable."

"And you guys think that that lady's perfume contained. . ." Henry began to speak.

"The tears of the jolly beetle." Gooch finished.

"That's impossible." Ray said. "To fill a whole perfume bottle, you would need tears from dozens of jolly beetles."

"But if those beetles were so jolly, what would make them cry?" Henry asked. We all stared out in space like the answer was going to appear out of nowhere. "Anyways, Jen, did you take your pills this morning?" I sighed as I cleaned the cut on Ray's neck and place a bandaged over it.

"Yes, Hen, I took them when you reminded me this morning." I muttered.

"Pills?" Ray questioned me. "Pills for what?"

"Nothing." I said quickly. "Right, Henry?" I glared at my twin brother.

"R-r-right." Henry stuttered. "Nothing." Ray turned his head to look at me and my breath hitched in my throat when our eyes met. They might be the same person but Ray was so much different than Captain Man. Ray's hair was a casual mess and his blue eyes shined so much brighter out of suit. His red button up shirt hugged his body and biceps and his blue jeans fit him just right. His skin seemed soft and all I could think about was running my fingers down his cheek and. . . I cleared my throat and quickly looked away. I tried thinking about anything but Ray to stop my cheeks from blushing. I wiped my hands on my jeans and stood up.

"Well, anywho, we should get home, Ra—Henry." I bit my bottom lip and looked up realizing my mistake. "Let's go. Charlotte, you coming or staying?"

"I'm coming." Charlotte said, hoping off her chair and walking over to the elevator with Henry and me. I continually pressed the button until the door opened and I walked in. I could feel Henry's eyes burning into the side of my face. I looked up the elevator chute avoiding the eyes that were watching me not only in the elevator but also out in the Man Cave.

"Henry Joseph Hart, don't say a word and just press the damn button." He laughed and leaned over pressed the up button and the elevator shot up into motion.

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The next day, I sat on my bed with my laptop on my lap researching jolly beetles and a way to reverse the tears' effects. It was hard to concentrate when all I could think about was Ray. Every time he came across my mind, he stayed there. His skin, his biceps, his lips and most importantly his eyes. God, his eyes. So, bright, gentle, lively blue eyes. My head fell back against my pillows as his eyes burned holes into my mind. I don't know how long I was like that when Henry walked into the room. I cleared my throat and indulged myself back into my research.

"So, what were you thinking about?" Henry smirked at me as he pulled his shoes out from his bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and started to put on his shoes.

"No one." I said hastily. I closed my eyes and grinded my teeth and rephrased my answer. "I mean, nothing." I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"Dude, Jen, I've never seen you blush like this. And you've had your fair share of crushes growing up." I glared at him.

"I don't have a crush on Ray." As soon as those words left my mouth, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed heavily. My brain and mouth were not cooperating today.

"I don't know, Jen. Have you seen your cheeks?" That only made my cheeks grow hotter.

"It's just. . . hot in here." Henry laughed.

"That's oldest excuse in the book, Jen." There was no arguing with this boy. I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Okay, so what if I do have a crush on our _boss?_ It's just a crush. It'll go away just like any other crush." Henry stood up and smoothed out his shirt before looking over at me.

"I don't know, Jen. Like I said, I've never seen you blush like this. PS., your phone is vibrating. I'm headed to work." He walked out of the room leaving me to my vibrating phone and thoughts. I looked at my caller ID to see Charlotte's face.

"Hey, Char, what's up?"

"Hey, Jennifer, where is Henry?" She asked.

"Headed to work. Why?"

"Great. Meet me down in the Man Cave. I have some information about the jolly beetles."

"Okay, see you then."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. I repeated the mantra in my mind on the ride down the elevator shaft. The door opened and I walked out into the Man Cave to see several empty cans of beef all over the floor and Ray slouched on the booth in his pajamas and slippers. Henry was in his Kid Danger suit standing behind Ray lecturing him while Charlotte stood beside him with her laptop in her hands. I threw my hands up in the air and looked at them questioningly.

"Later." Charlotte said as she set her laptop on a stand. "Okay, so Ray lost his power because he got sprayed with tears of a jolly beetle."

"Yeah, yeah." Ray snapped from the booth. "I think we're all aware of what has happened up to this point."

"Just tell us what you found." Henry said as his phone rang. He opened the cover of his phone clip on utility belt and Piper, our little sister, showed up on the caller ID.

"Ugh, what now?" Ray groaned as Henry answered the phone.

"What? . . . I don't know but I can't talk right. . . You've never ever been okay."

"Who's that?"

"Our sister." I informed him, leaning against the booth, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Piper, I. . ." Henry tried to explained to Piper but she cut him off. "Oh, no. . . Wow, tell me more." Henry set his phone down and turned back to Charlotte as Piper continued to rant on the other line. "Okay, tell us what you've found out."

"That jolly beetles only eat one thing. . . Japanese Fish flakes." Charlotte said.

"Fish flakes?" I questioned her.

"Yeah. And two weeks ago, a hundred pounds of them were shipped to a warehouse right here in Swellview." Ray sat up, looking interested.

"A lot of fish flakes that big would feed dozens of jolly beetles." Ray said.

"And who would need to have that many jolly beetles?"

"Someone who needed a lot of jolly beetle tears." Henry exclaimed.

"Enough to spray Captain Man." I added.

"One sec." Henry picked up his phone where Piper was still ranting. "She did? No way. Then, what happened?" He set his phone back down and turned back to Charlotte. "Where's the warehouse?"

"Downtown." Charlotte informed him. "Abbey Road."

"Ray, let's go." Ray stood up and walked away from Henry.

"No, I can't fight bad guys in my condition." Ray said.

"Is he serious?" I inquired.

"He's afraid now because he can be injured." Henry sneered.

"Well, who wouldn't be afraid?" Ray questioned him.

"How about me? I'm your sidekick and I've been helping you with all kinds of dangerous stuff and I've never had any powers. I can be hurt."

"Which is why I pay you nine dollars an hour."

"I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Charlotte asked him.

"To do my job." Henry grabbed his phone and held it up to his ear, never taking his glaring eyes off Ray. "Yeah, yeah, Marla's bad and you're amazing." Henry hung up on Piper and walked over to the chutes.

"Well, go with him." Ray looked torn, not knowing whether he should go or not.

"I can't." Ray finally said.

"You mean you won't." I corrected him.

"Have you seen my bee sting?" He held up his right hand to show me a small red dot on his hand and I slapped it away from me.

"Just forget." Henry snapped at him. "I don't need Captain Couch." Henry hit his belt buckle and a tube slid down over him. "Up the tube!" The tube sucked Henry up and he was gone. Charlotte and I turned to glare at Ray.

"Look! The bee hurt me!"

"I don't care about your stupid bee sting!" I snapped at him. "What I care about is that my brother is out there fighting bad guys without Captain Man." Ray sighed and turned his back to me.

"Face it, Captain Man is gone."

"No, he's not!" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself. I walked over to him and grabbed his arm to turn around and face me. He peered down at me with sad blue eyes and when I spoke again, my tone was gentler. "Ray, you're not Captain Man because you're indestructible. You're Captain Man because of your heart." I placed my hand over his heart and I felt it pulsating under my palm. With anxiety racing through my veins and my heart racing a hundred miles a minute, I reached up and cupped his cheek in my hand as his head drooped and his eyes closed. For the first time, I was seeing was underneath Ray Manchester's ego. "You just can't see it. You don't need to be indestructible to protect Swellview and you don't need to be indestructible to go help Henry." My fingertips grazed across his skin as I dropped my hand. "But it's your choice, Ray." I took a step back and began to walk over to the elevator.

"What choice?" I turned back to him.

"Whether you want Swellview to remember Captain Man for being indestructible or for having a big heart. You coming or staying, Char?"

"I'm coming." She said as she grabbed her laptop and made her way over to the elevator. As I pressed the button for the elevator, something sounded behind me and I turned to see Ray in his Captain Man suit. I smiled involuntarily.

"Go kick some ass, Captain Man."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

We were back down in the Man Cave later that night after Henry and Ray took care of Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort. They had captured all the jolly beetles and brought them back with them. In each container, the beetles had their own little chair to sit in and each container had a plastic tube that connected it to a bigger container that collected the tears. I looked over at Henry and Ray who were still in their uniforms. Ray did manage to get himself a cut on his cheek from the fight. I reached up and tilted his head to the side to look at the cut better. I clicked my tongue.

"Well, that's going to leave a scar." I muttered and I turned back to the beetles' who were laughing at Drake and Josh which was playing on the TV. Gooch's theory was that if the jolly beetles' tears from crying took away Captain Man's powers than maybe the jolly beetles' tears from laughing would give them back.

"So how does this work?" Charlotte asked Gooch.

"You see, when the beetles watch something funny they secrete this acid which we can use to reverse the weakening effect of the tears."

"You calling me a liar?" Drake said on TV.

"I ain't calling you a truther." Josh exclaimed. Henry and Ray burst out laughing along with the beetles.

"Classic." Henry and Ray said in unison.

"Now, I extract the fluid." Gooch said as he pulled some up into a syringe. Ray turned to him with worriness in his eyes. I gave his hand a quick squeeze as I passed him and walked over to Charlotte's side, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Come on, let's do this." Ray said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ready?" Ray nodded. "Spray in the hole!" Gooch shot the liquid into Ray's face and he groaned as his body began to convulse. His eyes glowed a bright, neon teal color as his fists clenched.

"That's interesting." I clutched Charlotte's arm when my breath hitched in my throat. The neon teal glow faded from Ray's eyes and he exhaled deeply.

"Did it work?" Henry asked.

"Only one way to find out." Gooch said. He walked away from us and to the weapons closet and pulled out a very large ray gun. My eyes got wide as I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you insane?" I snapped.

"Setting to intensity fire."

"Gooch!"

"Come on, Jen." Henry pushed me and Charlotte out of line of fire where we stood behind Gooch who pointed the ray gun at Ray. The emergency alert went off and Ray rushed to the computers before Gooch could shoot him. A security camera in zone five which happened to be Swellview Park showed Jasper walking in the park.

"Somebody!" He called out. "Help me! Please!" Henry, Charlotte, and I exchanged annoyed looks. "I can't get these jeans off!" Ray paused the video and turned to us.

"You hear that?" He asked. "There's a boy wandering through Swellview Park trapped in his own pants."

"Swellview needs you, Captain Man." I said. Ray walked off the platform and stood back in front of the ray gun.

"Okay, Gooch, time to check my density. Let's see if I got my Captain Man back."

"You realize if the beetles didn't work. . ." Gooch began to say but he trailed off. But we didn't need him to finish the sentence. We all knew what would happen if it didn't work.

"You sure, Ray?" I asked, rubbing my hands together nervously.

"Blast me!" Ray ordered. Gooch fired the ray gun at Ray and he let out a cry of pain when the blue ray connected with his chest. I clutched Henry's arm and buried my face into his shoulder not being able to watch. It felt like the agonizing yells went on forever but when they finally stopped, I slowly looked up to see Ray on his back on the ground with smoke rising from his chest. Ray finally jumped to his feet and placed his hands on his hips and smirked at us. "I'm okay!" I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him, so relieved that he was all right. I let go so Charlotte and Henry could hug him and Ray gave Gooch a high five. "Kid Danger. . ." Before Ray could finish what he was going to say, Henry's phone rang. He pulled it out of his clip and groaned.

"It's my little sister." Henry sighed.

"Ugh."

"What Piper? . . . Wow, please tell me all about it." Henry set his phone down and turned back to Ray. "Let's go." As Henry rushed to the chutes, Ray turned to me. He took my hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Thank you for that pep talk earlier." I smiled and playfully rolled my eyes.

"Anytime." I whispered.

"Anytime? Really? Great. So, eight o'clock Saturday night?" The smile dropped from my mouth as my mouth opened slightly in shock and my eyes grew wide. Before I could say anything, Ray raced off to the chutes and slapped his belt buckle with Henry and the chutes closed around them both. "Call it."

"Up the tube!" Henry yelled and they were both off. I slowly turned to Charlotte, still in shock.

"What. . . the hell. . . just. . . happened?" Charlotte laughed and walked over to me and slung her arm around my shoulders.

"I believe that you just got a date Saturday night with Ray Manchester." She clarified. My cheeks flushed and I smiled involuntarily.


End file.
